The Interview - The Movie

Well, this is a much publicized news story, http://abcnews.go.com/International/interview-fbi-links-north-korea-sony-hacking/story?id=27694178  that Sony http://www.sony.com/ was hacked and movies and employee information was obtained and even put out for public consumption.  Purportedly, the hackers were doing bid of the government of North Korea, which objected to the movie The Interview http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2788710/ a comedy about a plot to kill the leader of North Korea.

There were threats about more damage to come, if the movie was released.  Sony initially deferred the release of the movie, saying there were no outlets for it.  President Obama made a statement  http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2014/12/19/sony-the-interview-hackers-gop/20635449/ about not allowing terrorism to interfere with freedom of speech.  I applaud the sentiment.  But understand the concerns of Sony, or do I?

The Alamo Drafthouse Theater in Lubbock http://drafthouse.com/lubbock/lubbock was one of the sites that agreed to air the movie, after all. And there were similar sights throughout the country.  Many people went to see the movie, on Christmas day, considering it an act of patriotism that they would defy a terrorist attack threat against freedom of speech or just for the entertainment purposes of the movie. And the box office take was phenomenal!

All of this is well and good. The Interview is not the kind of movie I would pay to see at the movie theater. I cannot imagine anything comedic about a plot to kill anyone, world leader or the man next door.  It just does nothing for me.

And, I have another reaction to all of this.  I understand the critics say The Interview was not a very good movie.  I hate to be this skeptical, but what if Sony knew this, and planned the whole hacking event as a major publicity stunt.  I am not trying to blame the victim, I am just wondering, and from what I know about the world of business, something like that would not be impossible. 

Drum Corp International

So, tonight was the broadcast of Big, Loud and Live  http://www.dci.org/schedule/ , a live presentation of the preliminary Drum Corp International tournament finals http://www.dci.org/about/ on Fathom Events http://www.fathomevents.com/event/.

Not familiar with Fathom Events?  Neither was I until earlier this year. They offer opera and ballet, as well as sporting events,the drum corp events, and who knows what else. According to a colleague, who did not know I liked drum corp, they have been offering the drum corp events for a couple of years, at least. They basically satellite beam an event into a movie theater. 

The first time I went to such an event, it was when Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me ? http://www.npr.org/programs/wait-wait-dont-tell-me/ aired by satellite.  That was in the spring of 2013. 

Earlier this year, I went to an Fathom Event of Drum Corp International.  It was a taped version of their opening event.  Which is where I discovered that my colleague liked drum corp. 

I think this is a wonderful option for Lubbock and other locations around the country to receive various events.  I will pay for what I want to view.  It is very much like pay-per-view on TV, a little more expensive, but in a wonderful large screen, large sound setting.